Tencent has unveiled a standalone song identification app named QYin Tan Ge, or “Find Songs with Q Music” in English, even though QQ Music—Tencent’s flagship online music streaming service—already has a similar function.
The new app works like the popular Apple-owned app Shazam. QYin can recognize songs playing nearby and on apps such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and video platform Bilibili. The iOS version went live on Monday, while the Android version was launched Jan. 16.
Once a song is identified the app gives users the name, lyrics, and a 30-second clip of the tune. Users can then access the song through QQ Music. The app includes social sharing integration with other platforms like QQ, WeChat, and Sina Weibo, and also offers a chart with the top-100 most-queried songs. Unlike QQ Music, the QYin app lacks the singing and humming recognition feature.
QQ Music’s main competitors in the music streaming industry, including NetEase Cloud Music and Alibaba-backed Xiami, all have similar music recognition functionality in their apps as well. Unlike Tencent, however, they have yet to release standalone apps.